Burnt to dust, at our own hands.

Article: Global Warming: 4 possible scenarios
Category: Environmental Issues
Source: Straits Times Forum, May 15, 2007

Link to Online Version

Eugene Tay Tse Chuan, a Straits Times reader, believes that there are four possible scenarios to which global warming can impact our world, thus he writes in to the ST forum to express his views. In Mr Tay’s opinion, our world will either face a “Happily ever after” scenario, where there is no global warming and prevention measures weren’t wasted on it, a “Pat on the back” scenario where there is global warming, but early action was taken, a “No regrets” scenario, where there is no global warming but a lot of money was wasted on protection measures or a “Reap and Sow” scenario, where there is global warming, but no preventive action is taken.

The question remains. Which situation will actually happen in years to come?

Since global warming is an evident threat in our world today, we probably will not be able to achieve the “Happily Ever After” scenario any time soon. Yet, are we going to risk ending up in the “Reap and Sow” scenario for fear of wasting money on “useless plans to tackle climate change”? Many skeptics tend to claim that environmentalists are making mountains out of molehills, that the global warming problem issue isn’t really as bad as it seems to be, but is that really true? Yes, maybe people like Al Gore are making the situation seem more fatal than it really is, but at the end of the day, does it really matter? Why do we even need to wait till we are in trouble before we even make an attempt at saving ourselves from the dead? Even if our world was in a perfect condition, with no environmental problems whatsoever, does it hurt to put in that extra effort to take care of Mother Earth?

Alot of money might be wasted if the third scenario is met, but what’s it called “No regrets” for? In my opinion, this is precisely why we have been unable to settle the problem of global warming effectively, even after working at it for a very long time. The sheer audacity of regarding our personal wealth and well-being as more important than the health of our planet is simply shocking. Yet I can’t say I’m not guilty of this. We litter because we are lazy to find a bin, we drive because we are too lazy to take public transport “tiring”, and when warned about the potential harm of our actions, we conveniently say, “I’m just one person, what can I do?”

I know I may sound like some overly passionate environmentalist who is desperately trying to convince each and every one of you to “Save Mother Earth”, but the truth is, our selfish and uncaring behaviour is simply unacceptable.

Mother Earth has provided for us all, bringing each and every single one of us to where we are today. So how can we possibly forsake her and leave her to perish just because of our own selfish needs? Taking care of our environment is something that we should be motivated to do all the time, regardless of the state it is in. So why the big (not to mention unnecessary) debate on whether our planet is really on the path to doom? If we continue arguing over such a trivial matter without taking any action, our planet will probably be burnt to dust before we even decide to do anything about it. I may not be extremely well-read on global warming, and I may not be able to fully understand the situation at hand, but I strongly believe that if there ever comes a day where our planet really perishes due to global warming, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.


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Why bother with a surname?

Article: Looking for Singapore’s Next Leader
Category: Political Issues
Source: WeekendToday, May 5-6, 2007; http://www.todayonline.com/articles/186820.asp

Summary: Since our nation’s independence in 1965, Singapore has seen a total of three powerful and influential figureheads leading our nation’s government. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Mr Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lee Hsien Loong, our present Prime Minister, have no doubt done well in transforming Singapore from the fishing village of the past to the flourishing nation state we are today. The question now is, who will the baton be passed on to in the decades to come, when Mr Lee Hsien Loong steps down as Prime Minister?

The question we have to ask ourselves is, “What do we want in a leader?”

We first have to consider whether the person is able to lead our nation to greater heights, whether economically, politically or otherwise. A prime example would be Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who (in his 31 year reign as Prime Minister) had almost single-handedly brought Singapore to where we are today. Yet many people fail to recognise this, and instead critique Mr Lee’s methods of leadership. Mr Lee may seem somewhat elitist, and he does go all out to get rid of any opposition, but does that make him any less the influential leader that he is?

In my opinion, that is Singapore’s biggest problem when it comes to politics. Instead of looking at the big picture, many tend to nit-pick on minor issues. So what if Mr Lee made Chee Soon Juan bankrupt? So what if the PAP refuses to fund the development of Potong Pasir? Yes, these controversial methods are questionable, but the important thing is, we continue to have a strong government that strives to ensure our nation’s stability. Ask any Singaporean whether he would trust an opposition party to take over what the PAP has done for us in the past 40 years, and he would probably find it very hard to say yes, even if strongly anti-PAP in his views.

After PAP’s hegemony for the past decades, many Singaporeans have become apathetic to the politics of our country, bored with what we term an "uninteresting" one-party system. Well look at Taiwan's politics. Definitely interesting, but are they nearly half as stable as Singapore? I strongly believe that we as Singaporeans should learn to move away from PAP or Anti-PAP points-of-view, looking at figureheads like Mr Lee as the Prime Minister rather than the leader of PAP. Yes, PAP does have controversial methods of achieving political dominance, but we can never deny that what the PAP has done for Singapore can never be erased from the annals of our history. Thus, I believe that we should learn to accept the PAP for who they are, and look at politics from a more objective point-of-view.

As I am still young and have not received much exposure to politics, I may not be able to fully understand all the issues regarding the governing of a nation. Yet, I believe that when our next Prime Minister is sworn in, we should look at more important factors like whether he is capable of helping our country flourish or whether he is concerned for the needs of his people. Mr Goh and both Mr Lees have all had their different ways of government, and we as Singaporean citizens should not nit-pick on minor issues, but rather respect and acknowledge their contributions towards the development of our nation.

As long as the leader in 10 years to come is capable of building a better Singapore for everyone, why should we even bother with his surname or the party he is from?

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